It's Fun to Read About Cashews

Mom was here and we were eating cashews and I decided to read about cashews in the OXFORD COMPANION TO FOOD to show my mom how smart I am. She was so proud! Friends, I was astounded by my findings! Did you know that cashews grow out of a fruit called the "apple" of the cashew tree? Oh, you did? Well, good for you. I guess I'm just an idiot. Anyway, look at this crazy cashew fruit. Wait: "In fact the 'nut' is the true fruit, and it is only after the 'nut' has reached its full size that the 'apple' develops, as a fleshy expansion of what is called the receptacle of the nut." Do you know what else the OXFORD COMPANION TO FOOD says about cashew "apples"? "Monkeys like them." Full quotation: "In some countries the fruit is prized, for immediate consumption, or to be preserved in syrup or dried and candied; and the nuts are discarded. In other countries the emphasis is on the nuts, and the fruits are left on the ground for animals to eat. Monkeys like them."